Transcendental Phenomenology as Human Possibility: Husserl and Fink on the Phenomenologizing Subject

242 Pages·2023·4.446 MB·English

by  Denis Džanić

Phaenomenologica 237
Denis Džanić
Transcendental
Phenomenology
as Human
Possibility
Husserl and Fink
on the Phenomenologizing Subject
Phaenomenologica
Series Founded by H. L. Van Breda
and Published Under the Auspices
of the Husserl-Archives
Volume 237
Series Editors
Julia Jansen, Husserl Archives, Leuven, Belgium
Stefano Micali, Husserl Archives, Leuven, Belgium
Editorial Board
R. Bernet, Husserl-Archives, Leuven, Belgium
R. Breeur, Husserl Archives, Leuven, Belgium
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U. Melle, Husserl-Archives, Leuven, Belgium
R. Visker, Catholic Univerisity Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Advisory Editors
R. Bernasconi, Memphis State University, Memphis, USA
D. Carr, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
E. S. Casey, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, USA
J. F. Courtine, Archives-Husserl, Paris, France
F. Dastur, Université de Paris, Paris, France
K. Düsing, Husserl-Archiv, Köln, Germany
J. Hart, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
K. Held, Bergische Universität, Wuppertal, Germany
K. E. Kaehler, Husserl-Archiv, Köln, Germany
D. Lohmar, Husserl-Archiv, Köln, Germany
W. R. McKenna, Miami University, Oxford, USA
J. N. Mohanty, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
E. W. Orth, Universität Trier, Trier, Germany
C. Sini, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
R. Sokolowski, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
B. Waldenfels, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany
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Denis Džanić
Transcendental
Phenomenology as Human
Possibility
Husserl and Fink on the Phenomenologizing
Subject
Denis Džanić
Department of Philosophy
University of Graz
Graz, Austria
ISSN 0079-1350 ISSN 2215-0331 (electronic)
Phaenomenologica
ISBN 978-3-031-22985-5 ISBN 978-3-031-22986-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22986-2
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Preface
This book is a slightly shortened and partly reworked version of the dissertation I
defended at the University of Vienna. Small parts of it, mostly from Chap. 3, have
been included in a paper titled ‘Husserl and Fink on the “Miracle of Phenomenology,”
to be published in the Phänomenologische Forschungen 2/2022, edited by Cathrin
Nielsen and Alexander Schnell. I am grateful to the editors and the publisher for
permission to reuse those passages in this book.
This work grew out of a serendipitous encounter with a couple of methodologi-
cal writings of Husserl’s and was driven by the intuitive and plausible-sounding idea
that transcendental phenomenology was at its strongest when articulated as a pro-
foundly practical, historical, and, above all, human endeavor. This claim is neither
new nor alien to Husserlian phenomenology. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, it is also far
from being uncontroversial; complications abound and multiply quickly when try-
ing to grasp the practical and historical sources and relevance of transcendental
phenomenology. In the course of working on this topic, my initial intuition turned
into a deeply held conviction. It is my hope that this book might help persuade at
least some who might still be on the fence.
I have profited immensely from a number of discussions, conferences, and books,
but also from friendships and other professional and personal relationships. Naming
all of them would be impossible. Naming some is doable but involves its own dif-
ficulties of selection and restriction. Still, even with the most extreme selectiveness
in place, some people deserve special mention. I’d like to thank Michael Staudigl,
who was not only a great supervisor but continues to be a friendly and supportive
presence. My fascination with phenomenology in general, and Husserl in particular,
dates back to my undergraduate days and is inextricably linked with Ugo
Vlaisavljević. He was an amazingly inspiring teacher to me and has shaped my
understanding of philosophy in significant ways. A special word of thanks goes to
Rudolf Bernet; his gracious presence, continuous encouragement, and genuine col-
legial and personal warmth have meant a great deal to me.
v
vi Preface
I will be forever grateful to my parents, Dajana and Abaz, for their unconditional
love and support.
Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Amra, for being the unwavering source of
Sinngebung in my life. This book is dedicated to her.
Graz, Austria Denis Džanić
Note on References
In cases where an abbreviation is used in reference to a specific volume, the first
reference to the work will be accompanied by a footnote indicating the abbreviation.
As there are relatively few such cases, I did not deem it necessary to compile a list
of all the abbreviations used throughout the book. In cases where an English transla-
tion is available, the first number refers to the page number in the original, and the
second to the translation (e.g.: SCM: 157/142). The full bibliographic reference to
the latter will always follow the reference to the original in the “Bibliography.” The
one exception to the general rule of indicating both page numbers is cases where the
quotation only serves an illustrative purpose but is otherwise not central to the argu-
ment. In such cases, only the page number from the English translation is provided.
Where no translation was available, I have provided my own. In cases where a part
of the quoted text is emphasized (indicated by italics), the emphasis is present in the
original, unless noted otherwise.
References to Husserl’s published and unpublished writings are made in the cus-
tomary way, i.e., by indicating the respective Husserliana volume followed by the
page number, or by indicating the manuscript signature. I would like to thank the
director of the Husserl Archives in Leuven, Professor Julia Jansen, for the permis-
sion to quote from Husserl’s unpublished manuscripts, and Dr. Thomas Vongehr for
the meticulousness with which he checked my notes and provided me with the full
references.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction: The Problem of Humanity in Phenomenology . . . . . . . 1
2 Husserl and Fink: From Philosophical Systematics
to a ‘Phenomenology of Phenomenology’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1 Interpreting or Transforming Phenomenology? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 Toward the Idea of a Transcendental Theory of Method . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3 The Unique Status of Phenomenologizing Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.4 A Deep-Rooted Dualism of Mundane
and Transcendental Being? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3 Appearing in the World: On Radical Beginnings
in Phenomenology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.1 Bringing the World into View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.1.1 Heideggerian Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.1.2 Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.2 From the World Back, and Back Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.2.1 Beginning in the (Pre-given) World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.2.2 Between Impersonality and Un-humanization. . . . . . . . . . . 69
4 The ‘Who?’ And the ‘Why?’ Of Phenomenology:
Theoretical Claims and Claims of Concrete Reason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.1 The Two Senses of Enworlding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.2 The Ambiguities of Enworlding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.3 The Path to Phenomenology via Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.4 The Enigma of Parallelism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
5 In the Throes of Anthropologism: Theoretical Interest
and the Issue of Presuppositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.1 Historicism and Generativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
5.2 Instead of Theory, Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
5.3 Preamble. Theory and Practice in Phenomenology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
ix
x Contents
5.4 Circularity and Presuppositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
5.5 The Finkian Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
5.6 Two Notes on Presuppositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
6 Formulating the Task Anew: Toward a Transcendentally
Clarified ‘Higher Humanity’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
6.1 The Turn Away from Fink: Sciences, Knowledge,
Localization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
6.2 “Here I Sit at My Writing Desk…” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
6.3 Paths from, and Paths Toward, Humanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
6.4 The Ambiguity of the ‘Who?’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
6.5 The Axiology of the ‘Why?’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225